ABSTRACT
The rite of transformation may be said to begin with the Offertory, an antiphon recited during the offering of the sacrificial gifts. Here we encounter the first ritual act relating to the transformation. In the Greek Uniate rites, communion is received in bread and wine. Some water is mingled with the wine. In the Church Order of Hippolytus the water chalice is associated with the baptismal font, where the inner man is renewed as well as the body. The lifting up of the chalice in the air prepares the spiritualization of the wine. The censing has the significance of an incense offering and is therefore a relic of the original thysia. At the same time it signifies a transformation of the sacrificial gifts and of the altar, a spiritualization of all the physical substances subserving the rite.
